A VISIT TO PANTHEON , PARIS ( FRANCE )

                                           

                                             

                                           

                                           

                                            

                                                        ( Avtar Mota outside Pantheon )

    ( 'Locks of Love' tied to the railing of Pont  Saint Michel in Paris )

 

  A VISIT TO PANTHEON  IN   PARIS, FRANCE.

        ( All above 12 photos by Avtar Mota )

 

The Pantheon Paris ( Greek Pantheon meaning “Every God”) is one of the popular Paris tourist attractions. This majestic neoclassical building with its 19th century paintings and sculptures stands elegantly in the midst of the world-famous Latin Quarter. Latin Quarter is the area of the University of Sorbonne.  During the Middle Ages, the University of Paris – now wildly referred to as Sorbonne – was in its golden years and the whole area was filled with students who spoke Latin. Therefore, the area was known as  Latin Quarter. Pantheon is a stunning example of both Neoclassical and Gothic architectural styles . A repository of incredible art collection, it includes frescoes, paintings, sculptures, and mosaics that depict key points in the French history, including scenes from the Revolution. Many frescos and paintings  pay homage to St-Genevieve as well as key figures from history of France . The Panthéon is conveniently located in the heart of the 5th Arrondissement( district ) next to Luxembourg Palace and the Jardin du Luxembourg, a beautiful green oasis in the heart of the city. From Pantheon,  one can also walk down to Saint-Germain-des-Prés to visit the famous Café de Flore  that used to be frequented by intellectuals and artists of the 20^th century   that include Hemingway, Jean Paul Sartre  Albert Camus and  Pablo Picasso . The Sainte Chapelle,  the Sorbonne university ,the world-famous Shakespeare & Co. (book store) and the  Notre Dame Cathedral are also nearby. 

Parisians consider Saint Genevieve as the patroness saint of Paris .Sometime in the second half of 18^th century , King Louis XV  of France   engaged architect  Jacques Soufflot  for building a church in honour of the saint at her original burial site in Paris . There  existed an old dilapidated church at the burial site of the saint.  Started in 1757 , the church ( Pantheon ) was completed in 1790. When the construction was over , the monarchy in France had been thrown away by the Revolution. The Revolution of 1789 transformed the monument into a temple for Great Men. During the turbulent years of the 19th century, as regimes changed, it alternated in its role as a religious and patriotic monument. The new assembly  finally decided to convert the church into a mausoleum  of distinguished French citizens keeping it free from any Royal Tomb .  For sometime in the 19^th century, the Pantheon was restored to church but finally it was officially decreed in 1881 that the Pantheon shall only be used as mausoleum . The remains of its architect Jacques Soufflot were transferred to it followed by the mortal  remains of Victor Hugo. Built on the classical principles of Gothic cathedral architecture , this structure also reflects influence of  architecture style of Donate Bramante , the  Italian renaissance architect and painter  . The building also bears  influence of Greek Temple architecture especially the Façade and the Peristyle on the east side .In 1851, Jean Bernard Léon Foucault  the noted French physicist added more attraction to the structure by suspending a pendulum from inside the ceiling of the dome. At present , one can marvel at the superb duplicate of the  Pendulum, the original of which was used in 1851 by Leon Foucault to demonstrate the Earth’s rotation .One can have the best view of the Paris skyline by climbing up to the dome. It’s a steep climb, but well worth it for the view. The Pantheon building is 110 metres long , 84 metres wide and roughly 83 metres high . The massive dome is supported by four pillars .The main dome is actually a set of 3 domes held together .From the outside a single dome is visible. In 1790,  a  Cross was put at the top of the dome .  Between 1830 and 1851, the Cross was replaced by a  flag. The cross returned after Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte restored the building to church use.  However again the cross was replaced with a red flag during the Paris Commune in 1871. Later, the  cross was again installed  . The inscription on the front of the  Pantheon visible from outside reads this :-

Aux Grands Hommes, La Patrie Reconnaissante
(Great men and a grateful nation)

    From church to Republican temple, the Pantheon has always remained a symbol and a sanctuary dedicated to greatness. Eighty one persons are interred or commemorated inside the Pantheon. This list includes Mirabeau ( a revolutionary)  ,Voltaire ( writer and  philosopher ), Jean Jacques Rousseau ( writer and philosopher ), Victor Hugo ( writer ), Lazare Carnot ( politician and scientist ),Marcelin Berthelot( scientist ), Emile Zola ( writer ),Jean Perrin ( Nobel Laureate and scientist ), Louis Braile (educator) ), Rene Cassin ( Nobel Laureate and Human rights activist ) , Gaspard Monge ( mathematician ), Marie Curie ( Nobel Laureate and scientist ), Pierre Curie ( Nobel Laureate and scientist ),Andre Malraux (writer and politician ),Alexandre Dumas ( writer )and many politicians , military officers and clergymen. In fact, French president Nicolas Sarkozy wanted celebrated author Albert Camus to be reburied in the Panthéon to mark the 50th anniversary of the French writer's death. Jean Camus, the son of the late author  opposed the  plan. However, Jean’s twin, Catherine Camus, remained undecided. The plan was shelved .It is pertinent to mention that Marie Curie, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for her work on polonium and radium, was buried in the Pantheon in 1995. To avoid any risk of radiation contamination, her coffin is shielded by several layers of lead. Her body is perfectly preserved due to the radiation to which she was exposed during her work.

 Admission to the Panthéon is free for all EU citizens and permanent residents of France, but tourists  have to pay a small fee for a Pantheon tour. There are free pamphlets and audio tours available inside, as well as guides you can speak with if you’d like to learn more about the art, architecture, and history of the building.

• Adults – 11.50€
• Youths (18-25) – 9€
• Children (Under 18) – Free
• €3 extra to access the upper parts of the Panthéon (April-October).
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From April to  October,one can also go up to the cupola, and visit the higher part of the Panthéon.

                                       

We were told that from April 2023, Pantheon in Rome shall also be charging tourists  five Euros as entry fee. In high season (July to September), the Paris Pantheon is open every day of the week from 10:45 a m to 7 pm. In low season (October to March), the Pantheon is open every day from 10 am to 6.30 pm. We visited Pantheon( Paris) on 27^th of April ,2023. Using RAR train , we walked a distance of about 2 km from Chetelet ( pronounced as Shetlay ) to Pantheon crossing both the  divisions of the Seine river  near Notre Dame cathedral .At Pont Saint Michel ( bridge  ) , I saw some Punjabis  selling mineral water bottles to tourists for one Euro. They appeared semiliterate and from rural background. Were they Indians ? I don’t know. They could be Punjabis from Pakistan also .Were they Kabootars ( illegal immigrants ) who had arrived in Paris through some improper route ? I don’t know and can’t  say much. I saw  ‘Love Locks ’ tied to the railing of  Pont Saint Michel ( Pont means bridge in French ) . These locks of love are tied by lovers or newly married people  . The 'Lock of Love ' is a sort of tradition or ritual that is practiced on the bridges of the Seine River in Paris. Couples inscribe their names on padlocks, lock it on the bridge and throw the keys into the river. The ritual symbolizes love locked forever. These locks are like  'Threads of Faith'  ( Dhaesh in  Kashmiri) tied  inside the abodes of saints and Sufis in Kashmir   . 

                                                

             

                      ( Sorbonne University )

 I wanted to go to Sorbonne university nearby ( about 800 metres away)  to donate my book ‘Landscape And Lament’ to the university’s  library but the sky got overcast and there was every apprehension of heavy downpour. We saw just three sunny days since our arrival ( 7^th April ,2023) in Paris  .It may be pertinent to mention that Jiddu Krishnamurti , Mohammad Hamouda Bensai ( Algerian philosopher ), Nguyễn Hồng Giáp  (Vietnamese scholar), Jacques Derrida (French philosopher), Boutros Boutros-Ghali ( sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations), André Comte-Sponville ( French philosopher) and many more well known names have been students at Sorbonne university . I have been told by Dr K N Pandita (eminent Persian scholar and historian)  to bring some soil from Sorbonne , a university with which  Dr Zabiollah Safa ,his teacher and Guru from  Teheran University was associated . I shall surely do so upon my next visit to Sorbonne . We boarded bus no 24 for our return journey to Ecole Vetrnaire, Alfortville . I would conclude with a couplet of Urdu poet   Ahmed Faraz :-

 

“Kisi ko ghar se nikalte hi mil gayi manzil,

Koyi Hamaai tarah umar bhar safar mein raha”

 

 

( Avtar Mota )

 

 

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